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Merry Christmas everyone! 

I can't imagine that would be easier than pouring Envirotex on top of the enclosure. It's really not as difficult as some make it out to be.  Like anything, there is a learning curve, but I rarely have issues. Just pour way less than you need and use a stirrer stick to tease it out to the edges. Add more as needed.  Lifting decals also shouldn't be an issue if you drill first and plug holes with painters tape before pouring.  Just make sure to use a step bit to drill through epoxy when finished.

Can you apply thin coats with a foam brush, or does that create issues?

I think that would cause issues and end up being way more hassle than the previously mentioned method. I use enviro using the stirrer stick method. The hardest part is waiting the 72 hours for it to be rock solid.


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I see some of these being done on youtube with epoxy and it has left me nothing but horrified. If you know of someone who does it right, please post a link.  Thanks!

If your concerned about ruining a perfectly good enclosure, I would recommend starting out with a bare aluminum enclosure with decal (or etch) instead of powdercoat/painted enclosure.  That way, if you are unhappy with result, you can easily peel off the epoxy after warming it up with a heat gun and try again. I've done this many times and it works great!

I'm a newcomer to this, so please bare with me.

I've been wondering, and reading a lot about how to finish a pedal. Spray finish, floor polish, epoxy etc.
I have also wondered about using a face plate. However, that seems like the last resort.

I've read about problems about all of the above. Spray finish not durable enough and epoxy air bubbles and running down the sides.

So I tried to think of a new approach, maybe its already been tried, but I haven't seen anything, or possibly it won't for a reason I'm not seeing.

What if you used a silicon mold for for pedal? Press it into the silicone face down. After the form is ready, pour epoxy into the mold. You'd have to pre determine how thick you wanted it to be. I'm thinking 2-3mm. I think bubbles would be easier to remove from the back. Maybe not. Once the epoxy has set and you remove it from the mold, you could easy sand down the edges and then buff to clear. The knobs and switches could hold it in place. You could also drill the epoxy without worrying about lifting decals. What am I missing? Thoughts?

I can't imagine that would be easier than pouring Envirotex on top of the enclosure. It's really not as difficult as some make it out to be.  Like anything, there is a learning curve, but I rarely have issues. Just pour way less than you need and use a stirrer stick to tease it out to the edges. Add more as needed.  Lifting decals also shouldn't be an issue if you drill first and plug holes with painters tape before pouring.  Just make sure to use a step bit to drill through epoxy when finished.

Top notch awesomeballsy, Jon! What a great etch and overall execution!

I'm currently working and fumbling on a Engineeers Thumb design and there's a few different schematics around by the looks, whcih one did you use for this and does it all work as expected? I'm shooting for a 5knob version btw.
If you have a link to schematic that you found to be working for you that would be greatly appreciated and all...

I'm not sure which schematic Brian referenced but it seemed to agree with the JMK schematic, which I used to mod it back to stock specs. It does work as expected. 

Thanks!  I really like the pre-bonded 24awg wire that Small Bear sells but I've been out if that stuff for quite some time. I also really like 26awg solid core but you've got to be really careful not to move/bend the wires too much. I recently ran through a spool of that that I picked up at Frys electronics.  What you see here is 22awg 600V stranded wire intended for guitar amps that I purchased at tube depot.  It looks good but it's not close to ideal for pedal building.

I built one of these years ago on the awesome PCB offered over at JMK PCBs and regrettably sold it to fund another project.  Mr Bean PIF'd me a 5-knob proto iteration, which I modded it back to stock specs in order to use the toner transfer I already had printed up and avoid placing an order for more pots.  I'm a less as more kind of guy anyways so all the knobs would've been overwhelming for me anyhow!  Thanks again Brian for the awesome PIF and to Leevibe for the knobs, which look pretty great IMO.  And thanks to you guys for taking the time to look.

Jon

Love it!  Great idea with the graphic and the insides look perfect!

Great work Cooder.  I especially like the graphic you used in the Golden Pearl!

I forgot to give a shout out to Flanagan0718 who PIF'd me a set of road rage boards last month (one of which I used to power the Dirtbag). Thanks again Mike!

mint

but the total recall circuit beats it to be fair

Agreed!

Thanks guys!

Nice job hiding the one jack under the board! I did a double-take on that one.  Looks great and I bet it sounds great too.

It was definitely a tight squeeze.  I initially used 1uf poly caps in the signal path but they were too tall so I had to replace them with electros.

I've been working with Envirotex for a while now and I've noticed a significant difference during the winter when temperatures fluctuate. It seems like the first 8hrs or so are most critical so I would start early in the day once your house has warmed up. If you have a small heated space, place it there to cure.

-Jon

I pick this one up shortly before the total recall was released. It ended up collecting in the dust in a drawer for a few years but I finally got around to building it. I had a lot of trouble getting this one to work, and probably should've tested it before boxing it. Ha ha. In the end I got it all figured out. I'm too burnt out to calibrate it so I'll probably wait until after Christmas just in case Santa brings me a looper pedal. 

I'm a big fan of the JTM45 as well, but it does make the ears bleed after a while.  I've been meaning to research lower wattage 6v6 iterations but I'm not sure my wife agrees that I need yet another amp.   I really like the Matchless Spitfire clone I built earlier this year.  Pretty damn loud and more headroom than most 15(ish) Watt amps I've built.  Some complain that it's too bright though, so that's something to take into account.  You really can't go wrong with a 5E3 or Princeton Reverb IMO.  The Princeton might work with a wider range of pedals since it's a bit stiffer and seems to break up a bit later.  That being said, I wouldn't personally choose an amp based on how it reacts with pedals.  I'd rather choose the pedals based on how they work with the amp.

What a bummer.  They were my favorite as well. 

I have no idea where this came from, but man, I hope that guy never stops believing.

You've never seen The Lost Boys?

Ahhh, I don't think I've seen it since the early nineties. For some reason I've not revisited it in adulthood, seems about the right time of year for it now though. I did read something about it a while ago. Apparently it was originally intended to be about a Boy Scout troop, and be a lot more like Goonies.

Saw it once when it was released and can happily say have absolutely no recollection of that scene and any inkling of ever wanting to view the movie again is gone.
dave
dave

Rumor has it, watching it twice will result in immediate death by stereo.